


TMNT AU Volume 1

by Ithiliam



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: TMNT AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-04 20:36:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18820240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ithiliam/pseuds/Ithiliam
Summary: Basically, what if Hamato Yoshi was the one who died by the hands of Shredder instead of Tang Shen. Well, that's exactly what happened. In this AU, Tang Shen is the turtles' sensei and raised in the sewers like every other incarnation. However, they aren't the only mutants in New York. The whole world was struck by what is called the Mutagen Bomb, inspired by the episode Raphael: Mutant Apocalypse in TMNT 2012, and everyone whether it be it human or animal were affected and transformed into mutants. This entire story incorporates a lot of different incarnations, some more than others but mostly has to deal with Shredder and the Foot Clan. The story is split into 5 volumes, each with written and drawn chapters. I'll update notes to let you guys know where the next chapter will be.





	1. The Kraang!!!

**Author's Note:**

> **Volume 1**  
> [Chapter 1](https://www.deviantart.com/ithiliam/art/Tmnt-pg-1-788969974)  
> Chapter 2 (Here)  
> Chapter 3 (Here)  
> Chapter 4 (Here)  
> Chapter 5 (Here)  
> Chapter 6 (Here)  
> Chapter 7 (Here)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What they thought was going to be a normal night for the turtles, turns out to be a night they will never forget. They will discover something that no one has ever known, and from that discovery, their lives will change forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 is [here](https://www.deviantart.com/ithiliam/art/Tmnt-pg-1-788969974)

The streets of New York were quiet this evening. The citizens had retired back to their homes, exhausted from the hectic day. A knock on the glass of a window caught the attention of the inhabitant. The window slid open to reveal a girl, one with pale skin, adorned with freckles and topped off with short vibrant red-orange hair. Her blank expression melted into a smile at the sight of the one who knocked on her window.  
  
”Pizza delivery for April O'Neil!” A turtle with a bright orange mask stated as he held two large boxes of pizza. Behind him were three other turtles, each one wearing a red, blue, and purple bandana.  
  
The orange one is named Michelangelo, the blue one is named Leonardo, the red one is Raphael, and the purple one Donatello.  
  
”You guys know that I have a door right?” April said to the turtles, moving aside to let them in her home through the window. “We’re ninjas. We don’t exactly use the front door.” Raphael told her as he climbed through the window.  
  
”Casey!” Raphael shouted, getting the attention of said person who was sitting on the couch in the living room. Casey got up and went to greet the short but masculine turtle.  
  
”Hey! Pizza’s here!” Casey said as he and Raphael shared their own secret high five. “So what toppings did you get this time?” Casey asked as he eyed the two pizza boxes that had been set on the coffee table by Mikey.  
  
”Supreme with extra jalapenos, as usual.” Mikey answered. He sat in the bean bag near the tv.  
  
”Movie Master! What movie are we watching tonight?!” Mikey questioned April who had the remote in hand.  
  
“We’re watching that one ninja movie we found last time,” April answered as she started up Netflix.  
  
”Ohh~ Sounds interesting.”  
  
Everyone took their seats. Leonardo took the armchair while the others sat on the L shaped couch. April was sitting on top of Donnie on the short part of the couch while Raph and Casey took up space on the larger part. The movie started.  
  
  
Outside the home and a few streets away was a parked white van. Inside were two men who were identical in appearance. They surveyed the area, eyeing the cars and people passing by. A nice family of three walked down the street.  
  
”They should do.” The driver said to the passenger.  
  
”Let’s go.”  
  
  
The film ended and April switched the lights back on, revealing the sudden trash of the room. The boxes of pizza were completely empty, cans of soda littered the coffee table, and crumbs of popcorn and bread crept its way into the cracks of the couch.  
  
”That movie was good! Made me tear up at the end.” April expressed her opinions to the group.  
  
“You should’ve seen Raph! He was crying like a little kid.” Casey roasted as he wrapped his arm around his best friend.  
  
“Not even! You should’ve seen Casey. This guy was balling his eyes out the entire time. You can even see the watermarks on his face.” Raphael countered back as he brought Casey into an arm crushing hug.  
  
”You’re both pussy's.” Donnie said, roasting both of the hotheads much to their dismay.  
  
”Suck it up you two and help me clean up.” April said before throwing them the role of trash bags. All of them cleaned up the apartment until everything was spotless. Once that was done, the turtles made their leave.  
  
”Movie night at our place next time.” Leonardo said before opening up the window he and his brother came in.  
  
“Sure thing. See ya later guys.” April bid them farewell, giving a kiss on the cheek to Donnie who happily returned it.  
  
The turtles climbed out through her window as before and started making their way to their home.  
  
They ran through the roofs, seeing it as the fastest way to travel the city. They had memorized everything about the city, knowing where each street is based on certain rooftops. They jumped another rooftop when they heard a cry for help. The turtles stopped in their tracks and headed towards the source. They peered over the edge of the roof.  
  
”Let us go!” A man cried out. The two men from the white van, with an additional two men, surrounded the family of three. Two of the men dragged both the mother and the daughter to the white van but both hostages resisted. They tried to pull away with all their might.  
  
”They’re kidnapping them!” Mikey stated in a low whisper. “We gotta help them!”  
  
”Alright, guys. Looks like we gotta little late night brawl.” Raphael said as he cracked his knuckles. Each turtle took out their weapons and lifted their hoods, concealing their faces.  
  
”Let’s go.” Leo said and jumped down from the roof, followed soon after by his brothers. They landed on the ground and took position. Leonardo kept his katana pointed at the kidnappers. ”Let them go!” He ordered.  
  
The men were not fazed by them and continued to drag the family into the van. The driver lifted his hand and pointed at the turtles.  
  
”Get rid of them.”  
  
The three men dropped what they were doing and took out strange looking guns. They took aim and fired at the turtles. The turtles dodged the bullets which weren’t real bullets but energized beams of plasma.  
  
”Laser guns? These guys have laser guns?!” Mikey stated as he dodged a couple more.  
  
Raph charged one of them and readied his sai to stab him but the man grabbed hold of Raph’s arm and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying back through the fence that divided the alleyway.  
  
Donnie charged at another guy and readied his staff to electrocute him but the guy grabbed it and used it against him, electrocuting the purple turtle. He then threw him into the nearest wall where he fell into the garbage tank.  
  
Having been distracted by Donatello, Mikey went and threw his manrikigusari chain to wrap up his enemy. To his surprise, the man grabbed the chain and pulled him towards him. The orange turtle received many kicks and punches to his plastron and was then wrapped up with his own chain. The man hung him to the emergency stairs on the building next to them.  
  
Leo charged at the last man and readied his katana to slice him. Leo took his swing but the man jumped high in the sky. He straightened his legs and knocked Leonardo to the ground when he began to fall back to the floor.  
  
With the turtles knocked out, the men took the family and forced them into the van and drove off. Groans filled the alleyway as the turtles began recovering.  
  
”What... just happened?” Leonardo asked, picking himself up from the ground and rubbing a bruise on his head caused by the impact to the ground.  
  
The lid of the garbage tank opened and out appeared Donatello. He let himself rest on the side of the tank, one hand holding him up while the other was dangling holding his bo staff.  
  
”Did we just lose... to three guys?” Donnie said, panting between his words.  
  
Raphael had gotten up and headed back to his brothers, going through the fence he had been thrown through. He held an arm around his torso, stilling the pain from the kick.  
  
”Those guys hit like trucks,” Raphael claimed to his brothers who wholeheartedly agree. “Just who were those guys?” He asked.  
  
"Definitely not the purple dragons,” Leonardo responded, already speculating on the identities of the kidnappers. “The mob perhaps?”  
  
”Nah, they were too skilled and they don’t have that kinda tech.” Donnie reasoned. “Those laser guns were kinda cool though.”  
  
”So it’s not the dragons or the mob. Then who is it?” Raphael repeated his question. All of them went into deep thought, figuring it out. Raph gave a small smirk. ”The Illuminati.” Raphael suggested half-jokingly.  
  
“Raphael, for the last time the Illuminati doesn’t exist,” Donatello responded angrily, tightening the grip on his staff. Raphael put his hands up in defense, “Just putting it out there.”  
  
”Uh, guys?” A voice spoke out. The turtles turned to the source and found it to be their little brother who was still dangling from the stairs. “A little help here?”  
  
”Hold on, I got you.” Leo said before heading to help his brother down. The middle brothers stayed together and continued to stare at each other.  
  
”I still think it’s the Illuminati.” Raphael restated his answer, much to the annoyance of his slightly younger brother. Donatello was done with Raphael’s shit and started made his way home, ”I’m done... I’m too exhausted to deal with your shit.”  
  
”H-Hey! You know I’m joking!” Raphael said before going after his brother.  
  
  
Morning came for the turtles, thankfully they didn’t have to worry about early morning practice. They were all in the kitchen sitting at the island that was placed in the middle of the room. Raphael and Michelangelo sat opposite of each other on the short sides of the island while Donatello and Leonardo sat next to each other on the longer side facing the stove.  
  
The turtles ate their breakfast in silence, still too exhausted and bruised to initiate conversation. The orange turtle ate a bowl of his favorite cereal. The red turtle was eating a sandwich he had made with the leftover ham that was in the fridge. The blue turtle was eating toast with a cup of green tea. The purple turtle didn’t eat but instead was drinking coffee straight from the pot while staring at his laptop screen.  
  
Raphael groaned as the headache that had been coming and going had come back. He held his hand on his head as if to stop the pain.  
  
”We got any Tylenol?” He asked his brothers.  
  
“In the cabinet, bottom shelf,” Leonardo responded, his brother moving to the said cabinet to grab the medication. Leo turned himself over to his insomniac brother, noticing that his systems started rebooting.  
  
”You find anything about those guys last night?” Leo asked him.  
  
”Huh? Oh, uh...” It still took a minute or two for Donnie to get his thoughts together. He yawned and rubbed his face to get himself awake. He continued, “I was able to... track down the van to see where they ended up. I tracked them down to an abandoned building in the lower east side of Manhattan."  
  
”The hell they doing in the east side?” Raphael asked as he stood next to Donnie. Mikey, joining in on the conversation, leaned closer to Leo. Just then another turtle came into the kitchen.  
  
The mother of the turtles, Tang Shen. She was smaller than the turtles already present in the room. She wore the lightest green out of the turtles and was decorated by teal marks similar to her sons, chocolate eyes popped out her similar color scheme. She wore a loose dark navy robe that looked very comfortable and held a jade colored staff. She walked to her sons quietly like a mouse and hovered behind them, listening in onto their conversation.  
  
”That’s what we’re gonna find out. We’re gonna find them tonight.” Leo responded to Raph.  
  
”Find who?” Tang Shen finally spoke, giving a spook to her sons. They quickly relaxed at the sight of their mother who chuckled at their reactions.  
  
”Oh, hey mom.” Leo greeted her with his brother following suit.  
  
"What is all this going to the east side?" Shen asked as she went to grab a cup from the cabinet and poured hot water from the kettle that was sitting upon the stove before inserting the tea bag into the cup.  
  
”We’re looking for these guys that kidnapped a family last night.” Mikey answered. Shen came close to her sons and inspected each of their wounds.  
  
“That would explain all these bruises.” She stated.  
  
"You boys know you don't have to keep saving every single person in the city. That's why there is the police." Shen said to them. She was starting another one of her worry rants. Ever since the turtles had turned 14, they had decided to use their skills to protect the city. As the years had gone on, things have become more serious for the turtles which had begun to worry their mother.  
  
"You know we can't help it. Ever since we were little you told us that we should do the right thing and we're doing that." Raphael responded to her.  
  
She sighed, "I know you four love protecting the city but..."  
  
”Mom... there’s nothing to worry about. We know how to take care of ourselves. We can handle this, we always have.” Leonardo reassured his mother who sighed in defeat. She gave a small smile to her sons, “Come back in one piece, okay?” Her sons promised before she left the kitchen, leaving them to continue their search.  
  
  
Night came for the turtles who were already on their way to the east side in their own van. They had salvaged it about a year ago from the local junkyard in the mutant city, it was in rough condition but Donnie had managed to get it running again. Since then the turtles have used it to get from one area to another faster than they were to go on foot.  
  
Leonardo is the driver since he is the least likely one to not run over things for the fun of it. Donatello was at the computers which he had installed into the van. Raphael and Michelangelo sat opposite of Donatello. They were not in charge of anything but were kept as back up. Next to them was Raphael’s motorcycle, again also salvaged from the junkyard and repurposed.  
  
“Alright, fearless leader, what’s the plan?” Raphael asked his older brother. “The plan is to infiltrate the place and find the family and get out of there without getting caught,” Leonardo explained to the group.  
  
“Take a right here and park the van.” Donnie direct Leo who followed. Leo parked the van in an alleyway, two buildings away from the building. “There’s an entrance through the roof,” Donnie said. All the turtles climbed up the building and jumped over the roofs to the one they needed to be. They smashed opened the roof access door and headed down into the building.  
  
They venture through the building, going down hallways and stairs. The walls were decorated with metal, electric conductors coursed through the ceiling, bright magenta lights guided the floor, the walls, and the ceiling. This wasn’t right.  
  
”Not your typical villain hideout.” Raphael stated as he moved slowly through the narrow hallway. “I think their favorite color is magenta.” Mikey chirped.  
  
”There’s something fishy going on in here. I can feel it. Stay sharp ninjas!” Leo warned his brothers.  
  
Donnie took a better look at the material around them, “This material... I don’t recognize any of it. It’s… It’s not native to earth.”  
  
Footsteps came from the upcoming hallway. The turtles hid around the dark corner from the upcoming figures. It was the family they were gonna rescue but that was quickly forgotten. What surprised them the most was that they were escorted by alien robots.  
  
”Alien robots...” Mikey whispered.  
  
The robots entered a room that led to what the turtles thought was a lab.  
  
”Let’s go.” Leo ordered as the turtles made their way to the room. Raph keeping the door open with his bare strength for his brothers to get through. Once they were in the closed the door. They all gathered together to make sure they made it.  
  
”Holy shit...” Donnie said aloud as he gazed at the contents of the room, his brothers following suit.  
  
The lab was about two and a half stories high, all covered in electric conductors hanging from one part of the ceiling to another. One wall was nothing but cages with mutants inside. Another wall sported what appeared to be computers. Robots filled the room, some being scientists while others being soldiers.  
  
The center of the room is what caught the turtles eye the most. A giant tub of green ooze was held tightly by metal rods from the ceiling with a tube coming down from the bottom.  
  
Michelangelo spotted the family, “Guys look!” There they saw the family being escorted to the center of the lab, underneath the tub of ooze. They were locked in by a capsule that connected to the tube. A couple of robots added a special vile of unknown contents into the tube to mix with the ooze. After a few clicks on their computer, the ooze from the tub began to flow through the tube and into the capsule.  
  
The sudden contact with the ooze was agonizing. They felt like they were burning up from the outside and inside. Their bodies contorted in gross and horrific ways, bones shifting and changing inside their bodies. The sounds of screams filled the lab, the robots not fazed by it. The ooze now absorbed within their bodies, it showed their new forms, wolfs.  
  
“Experiment successful. The mutagen has responded to the human body as desired.” One of the robots said as they typed it down in their tablet. A few guards escorted the newly mutated family straight into a cage.  
  
Shock didn’t begin to describe what the turtles felt. They couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed. They were frozen in place, not sure of what do next. Something inside Donatello’s mind clicked, stepping back from his sudden realization.  
  
”Oh god...” Donnie began, “I think we just discovered who’s responsible for the M-Bomb.”  
  
”Intruders!” A robot shouted, pointing a gun at the turtles.  
   
”Shit.” Raphael said aloud. “Guys run!” Leo shouted. The turtles began running away in different directions from the robots who began firing at them.   
  
“What do we do now, leader?!” Raphael asked as he punched a robot in the face. “We get out of here!” Leo responded as he kicked down another robot. They kept swarming in large numbers, giving the turtles a hard time trying to reach the door.  
  
”But what about all the mutants in the cages?! We can’t leave them here!” Mikey argued as he kicked down a robot. “Mikey’s right! We can’t leave them here, who knows what these guys are gonna do to them!” Donnie argued as well.  
  
”Fine! Donnie, get to the control panel and find a way to set them free from there! We’ll deal with these robots!” Leo ordered.  
  
Donnie made his way towards the computers that were on the other side of the room, taking down the robots that got in his way. Once at the computers he began typing away while his brothers continued to fight against the robots.  
  
As the turtles fought the mysterious robot aliens, they quickly discovered they were no match for them. Leo fought one of the robots and swung his katanas at it. They broke on impact, the tips landing on the floor. Leo froze at the sight, his eyes going back and forth between the katanas in his hand and the blades on the ground.  
  
"Oh no..." Leo mumbled as the robot punched him right in the face.  
  
Raphael and Michelangelo struggled with their own batch of alien robots. Both strike at a robot but their weapons too broke. Raph's sais broke into four pieces while the wood of Mikey's nunchaku broke in half, scattering splinters of wood on the ground. Both too were totaled by the robots. As the three brothers faced new problems, so did Donatello.  
  
“Ugh, guys! We have a slight problem!” Donnie yelled out. “Slight problem?!” Raphael shouted before getting punched by a robot. “What’s wrong?!” Leo asked as he dodged the robot's sword. “The controls are in an alien language!”  
  
“What?!” Mikey blurted out. “So what do we do now?!” Raph asked as he was able to gather up with his brothers. “We break them ourselves!” Leo said.  
  
All the turtles began to break the glass of the cages, releasing the mutants from inside. Each mutant headed out through the open windows that were at the near ceiling of the lab.  
  
"That's all of them," Leo said as he gathered up with his brothers. "We still got these guys to deal with." Raphael reminded as more robots came swarming in. "They just don't stop coming!" Mikey shouted as he backed up against his brothers.  
  
"You four will not interfere with Kraang's plan anymore! Surrender mutants!" A robot ordered, pointing a gun at the turtles.  
  
"We'll see about that!" Leo retorted. "Come on ninjas!" The turtles began to make their way through the hoard of kraang, punching, kicking, and pushing their way through to get to the exit. Out of nowhere Raphael was grabbed from behind and thrown at the main computer, destroying it in the process. The lights suddenly blared red, alarms filling up the entire building.  
  
WARNING! WARNING! SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED! I REPEAT! SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED!  
  
Everyone froze up on the spot, the kraang glared angrily at the kraang robot that threw Raphael into the computer.  
  
"You fucking idiot! Look at what you've done! All kraang evacuate!!" One of the kraang shouted. All the kraang began making their way out of the building, pushing and toppling over each other. The turtles looked at each other blankly. "Run!"Leo yelled out.  
  
The turtles ran as fast as they could, making their way out of the building the same way they came in, pushing through the large hoard of kraang that too was trying to escape. They jumped down from the roof and scurried towards their van that was a couple buildings away.  
  
Mikey dared to look back and saw a small hoard of kraang following them, aiming their guns and starting to fire at the escapees.  
  
”The kraang are after us!” Mikey warned his brothers, barely dodging a shot. “Hurry guys!” Leo shouted to the group as they continued to run towards their van.  
  
Leo was the first to make it to the van, he pulled the doors and held them open for his brothers to get in, then getting in himself once his brothers were inside. Leo hastily took out the keys to start the engine, dropping them from the stress.  
  
”Start the truck, Leo! Start the truck!” Raphael frantically shouted at his eldest brother as they saw the kraang coming close. “Got it!” Leo said as he finally managed to get the key inside the start engine. Putting the van in reverse, he slammed his foot onto the gas pedal and drove out of the alleyway and onto the street, running over the kraang that had kept following them. The turtles gave themselves a second to relax as they drove away from the kraang.  
  
Suddenly the building they were just in exploded, engulfing the old brick and wood in bright raging blue flames. The force of the explosion shook the ground, making Leo lose control over the van, making a 180 turn facing the flames. They all took a moment to gaze at the blue light.  
  
”Holy shit...” Donatello mumbled under his breath but it was still audible to his brothers, seeing as that is what the rest are thinking as well.   
  
Everything felt so surreal to the mutant turtles. Just within the span of an hour so many things have changed for the turtles. What seemed to be a simple rescue mission turned itself into a full out battle against alien robots who happened to be the ones responsible for the infamous M-Bomb. It was so much to process for the turtles. Unfortunately, they won’t be able too as the sounds of sirens started to fill in their ears, breaking the reptiles from their stunned trance. Leo took off before the cops could catch them, making their way back to their home back in the sewers of Manhattan.  
  
  
It was around midnight when the turtles arrived back to their home, which was the usual time they returned home, the only difference is the abundance of bruises and wounds covering their entire bodies. They spotted their mother sitting on one of the armchairs watching late-night soap operas. They would always find her there after a patrol over the city, patiently waiting for her son to make sure her sons came home safe and sound, tending to their wounds if there were any.  
  
She turned her head over to her sons, what was a welcoming smile turned into a worried frown. She got up from the chair and walked towards her sons, inspecting their bruises.  
  
Cupping Raphael’s cheeks in her hand, she asked worriedly, “What happened out there?”  
  
”Ugh... a lot... actually.” Raphael said, rubbing the back of his head as he took a seat on the couch next to his youngest brother who laid spread out, his legs dangling from one side of the couch.  
  
“It may sound completely *yawn* wack but...” Mikey tried to continue his sentence but immediately fell asleep on top of Raph’s leg, the owner who began rubbing his head.  
  
”We fought aliens.” Donnie stated. He got a strange glare from Tang Shen, confused and a little bit concerned. Before she could say anything, Donnie interrupted her, “No we’re not high.”  
  
”Are you sure?” Shen tried to reassure herself. ”It’s true. We fought aliens...” Leo confirmed who only seconds later let himself process what he just said, “Holy shit we fought aliens.”  
  
”You boys really need some sleep.” Shen said, seeming too tired to deal with her son's shenanigans much to the dismay of Donatello. “We’re... ugh fine. We’ll explain everything in the morning.”  
  
With that, the turtles all retreated to their rooms, with the exception of Mikey and Raph who both fell asleep on the couch. It was better to leave them be than to wake them. Besides, the couch was comfy enough to be a bed. They all laid in their beds and slowly fell asleep.  
  
  
It was the next morning and the turtles were slowly recovering from their mission of the previous night. Leonardo was sore all over, his carapace was stiff as a rock and any slight bending shot a slight pain through his body. There was also a large bruise on his right cheek. Raphael too was suffering from a sore body but was managing it more than his older brother. He was the most bruised out of his brothers, having a large bruise on his right cheek and his head, accompanied with a black eye on his left eye. Michelangelo heals the fastest out of his older brothers and thus doesn’t feel as groggy. Though he still does have a slight soreness and a couple of bruises, luckily none were on his face. Donatello was the least sore and bruised from his brothers and was very fortunate, he heals the slowest compared to them.  
  
All the turtles were sitting around the living room, sipping some tea their mother had made and eating some pizza that was brought over by their human friends. April and Casey heard the news about what happened last night and decided to come over and to check up on the turtles. Currently, they were talking about what happened to the turtles.  
  
"Alien robots? You gotta be joking." Casey gave a hardy laugh.  
  
"Bro, we ain't lying. We really did fight alien robots! Sure we look like shit but we beat them! We even rescued all the mutants they had captured there." Raphael insisted.  
  
Casey and April eyed each other knowingly, their gaze went over to Leonardo. They knew they could get a definite answer from him.  
  
"It's true, we fought aliens," Leonardo confirmed much to the surprise of the two humans.  
  
"But that is not the strangest part about last night." Donnie chirped in, gaining the attention of the confused faces of the humans. "It's not?" Casey frightenedly asked.  
  
"Those aliens... we discovered they were the ones responsible for the M-bomb," Donnie told them. "No way..." Casey blurted out. "You're not being serious are you?" April questioned.  
  
"We saw it ourselves. The family we were supposed to rescue… we saw them be mutated with the green glowy ooze that mutated everyone." Leo confirmed again. The other turtles gave nods to confirm it. April leaned back into the couch, sighing and letting herself process everything that was entering her mind.  
  
"Too bad that place exploded, we could've ratted them out." The youngest turtle said as he took another bite of his pizza in his hand.  
  
A thought crept its way into April's head, "Not entirely. What if they have other places in the city? Think about it. If they are mutating people then they should have multiple places around the city, just in case one gets compromised."  
  
"April's onto something there," Leonardo said. "But we're gonna need some serious upgrades if we're gonna go up against them again. They kinda... broke our weapons." Leo said embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Mom is definitely not gonna like that," Mikey added in as he took another bite of his pizza.  
  
"Making new ones won't work, they'll break like the last ones." Raphael pointed out as he crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"Unless we use their own tech..." Donnie said. "Use their tech?" Leo questioned. "If regular earth weapons can't destroy them, perhaps using their own tech against them," Donnie explained.  
  
"But where would we even get that?" Raphael asked. "We use the metal from the robot bodies," Donnie answered. Everyone gave Donnie a frightened gaze. "Kinda morbid but it could work," Leo said.  
  
"Are you sure you can make us new weapons?" Raphael asked his brother. "Of course I can... hopefully," Donnie said with the utmost confidence, muttering his last word. Raphael eyed him doubtfully then turned to face his leader, "Alright so what's the plan?"  
  
"The plan would be to make our weapons first and then to track down all their hideouts and take them down," Leonardo explained to the group. "I can get started on the search using the city's cameras," Donnie stated. "I can help with that," April added. "Count me in on bashing some alien ass," Casey stated.  
  
"It's a plan then!" Leo shouted out loud.  
  
  
The sun was bright and high in the sky, no clouds to obstruct its light except for the black smog filling the air. The smell of burnt wood and metal engulfed the air around it. The source of the smell came from a burnt down building, one closed off to the public and gone into an investigation. The bright yellow “Do not cross” signs bordered the building. People in white hazard suits were spread out throughout the ashes, gaining any piece of evidence that could help investigators figure out the cause of the   
burning of the building.  
  
A tall, broad shoulder but a slender man wearing a black business suit with black sunglasses with his black hair combed back walked through the ashes. He gazed upon the ashes, also pondering the possibilities of the destruction of the building.  
  
It hadn’t been the first time he was out near a crime scene. In fact, he had already lost count. Someone of his occupation, this was just another day at a 9-5 job filling out paperwork. Though there were days where he would be involved in much grander things, today however was nothing more than another place to clean up.  
  
”Sir!” A man in a suit called out to the one in black.  
  
The man in black turned to face is caller, “What is it, agent Whittaker? Have we found the cause of this incident?” The man in black questioned the agent.  
  
”Not yet sir, but we have discovered something strange about this building. Multiple substances that we don’t know about, various types of chemicals not known to us, and the structure of the building being built by materials we do not recognize.” Agent Whittaker explained. Coming close to the man, bring his hand to make sure no one else heard, he whispered: “We think it could be what we have been looking for, Agent Bishop.”  
  
The features on Bishop’s face relaxed as he gave a smile toward Whittaker. Bishop turned around and started walking towards his car that was parked outside the scene.  
  
He laid a hand on Whittaker’s shoulder, “Keep me updated on everything you find on this investigation and get my team on it. It seems the fruits of our labor have finally been paying off from the past 16 years.”  
  
With that he retreated to his car and drove off, leaving the investigation team to further their work.


	2. Foot Clan in New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A couple of weeks pass since the turtles faced off against the alien robots called the Kraang. Thinking that the Kraang were the only threat in New York, they have another thing coming. What they once thought as an old enemy from Japan now comes here to take over the city.

A couple of weeks had passed since the turtles had encountered the Kraang, small pink brain-like aliens in robot suits, the ones responsible for the mutagen bomb. The turtles had decided that they needed to be stopped, with the help of April and Casey, they’ve been able to locate other locations around the city where the kraang could be hiding. Donatello went ahead and upgraded his and his brother’s weapons, using the metal of the Kraang’s robot suits, allowing the turtles to actually damage the kraang.  
  
Although the turtles think that the kraang is a one and done thing, they are completely wrong. Things are only just beginning for the turtles.  
  
  
It was a sunny day for the city of New York, barely any clouds to hide away the beautiful azure color of the sky. A small private jet landed on an airstrip of the JFK international airport. The hatch door opened once the plane had connected to some mobile stairs, letting the passengers out. A tall, broad-shouldered man, sporting a luxury black coat with a red scarf wrapped around his neck exited the plane. Although his apparel framed a civil figure, his features showed a more rough character. His jawline and cheekbones were sharp, long black slick hair tied into a ponytail, a large scar laid on top of his left eye, giving more mystery of the one sporting it is. Next came out a short but muscular woman with neck length black hair, wearing a luxury black coat with knee-high boots. Both passengers entered a limousine that had been waiting at the bottom of the plane and drove off into the city.  
  
Both passengers gazed through the window, admiring and taking in everything that New York had to offer. They must admit, it was different than what they were used too.  
  
"This is the city of New York. I must say it does have its charm." The man spoke as he admired the architecture of the buildings.  
  
"Not as beautiful as Japan, though." The woman said, remembering her home country. The man chuckled, "You do have a point there."  
  
"I hope that this city will prove worth expanding our power. I do not want to waste my efforts in a city that will not benefit us." The man admitted. The woman put a hand on top of his. "Do not worry, father, this city will be ours." She reassured. The man gave a faint smile to his daughter, "Always so optimistic. Just like your mother."  
  
The limousine stopped as it had reached its destination, a large skyscraper next to the Hudson River, coated in dark blue glass. Simple in its form yet very modern. The driver got out of the car and opened the door for the passengers. They got out of the car and entered the building to be met with a man in a suit.  
  
He greeted them warmly, bowing once near them, "Sensei Saki, Karai, it is good to see you have made it here safely."  
  
"A rather long flight but we are glad to be here, Nakamura," Saki admitted as he too bowed.  
  
"Come then, sensei. I will show you the building.” Nakamura said before leading Saki and Karai towards an elevator. He clicks the button for the top floor and the elevator begins to travel upwards. As they waited to reach the top floor, Nakamura began to make conversation.  
  
”Most of the bottom stories of the building are reserved for your weapons company. We have prohibited them from accessing the upper floors as per your request. Only those with authorization may enter the top stories. The floors above the company house all the labs, weaponry, and training dojo’s for your clan. There are also sleeping and living quarters for them. The last top floors are reserved for you and your elites. They house your weaponry, living quarters, and the dojo.” Nakamura reported.  
  
They reached the top floor and the doors open, the passengers walking out towards a hallway that broke off into three directions. They continued forward to the large ceiling high doors. Nakamura opened the door and Saki and Karai went inside, Nakamura following behind.  
  
The dojo was rather large, larger than the one that Saki was used too in Japan. It was decorated with dark oak on the walls and columns holding up the ceiling. The floors were of dark marble and at the edges of it housed an aquarium with koi fish. In the middle of the room laid a large black chair with a moderately sized table in front of it, framed by a solid black wall with the symbol of a foot embroiled into a large banner. At the right of the room, there is a door that leads towards a helicopter and a gorgeous view of the river beneath it.  
  
A tall, muscular, blonde man stood patiently in the room as Nakamura turned to introduce him. He towered over everyone in the room, his build has wide and his shoulders were broad. He had a tattoo of a purple dragon on his left arm, one reminiscent of how the Japanese depict the mythical creature.  
  
”This man right here is Hun, the leader of the largest gang in New York, the Purple Dragons.” Nakamura introduced. Hun came close to Saki and bowed.  
  
”It is a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Hun greeted as he straightened himself.  
  
“Thank you, Hun. I hope your Purple Dragons prove to be as great as you say it to be.” Saki said. “You don’t have to worry about that, sir. I can assure you, we the purple dragons will follow all your orders.” Hun reassured him.  
  
“Good. Also, I prefer you to call me Master.” Saki requested to which Hun agreed. Saki cleared his throat as he made his way towards his chair and sat down.  
  
”Now onto business. Hun, are there any enemies I need to know about when trying to bring my faction here? I presume you would have some knowledge on that.” Saki questioned.  
  
“Yes, master. There are five mafia groups in the city and surrounding neighborhoods. They are very powerful and control much of the city.” Hun explained. “I see. Is there more?”  
  
“Mostly personal enemies of the dragons but they do not matter. We can handle them.” Hun answered.  
  
“If I may, who are your enemies? Perhaps we can use them to our advantage.” Karai joined in.  
  
“Mostly other gangs around the city. But there are these… four turtles who are the worst of them. They have been facing against us for the past 2 years. They’re pretty tough and the only ones who have been able to hurt the dragons.” Hun hesitantly explained, not sure how they would take having the dragons be beaten by a couple of mutants.  
  
“Turtles?” Saki questioned. “But I wouldn’t worry about them, they have nothing to do with the Foot,” Hun reassured his master who heeds those words.  
  
“Thank you, Hun. You may leave us now. Your first mission will be given to you once everything is settled. Make sure your Dragons are ready.” He stated. Hun gave a final bow before exiting the room. Saki also waved Nakamura farewell as he went to continue his work.  
  
Saki turned to face his daughter, “Karai, find recruits that are willing to join my army, I will start preparing our operations.”  
   
“Hai, father,” Karai said.  
  
Saki got out of his chair and put a hand on Karai’s shoulder. He extends his other arm to the door and began walking towards it. ”Come, let us rest now.”  
  
  
The sound of spray paint broke the quiet of the night. Michelangelo had grabbed his sprays and decided it was time to paint another barren wall of the city. Mikey was the only one who really lived up to his name, he had a knack for graffiti. Ever since he was small he would paint the walls of the sewers with drawings that would pop up into his head. It brought him joy to share his art with others.  
  
His brothers had come along to watch him, chowing down on an extra-large pepperoni pizza that they got on the way. Every time one of the came along with their little brother they would always give him ideas.  
  
Swallowing his last bite of pizza, Michelangelo gave one final spray to the wall of the building, completing another masterpiece. He turned around to his brother to find approval.  
  
”So, what do you guys think?” He asked as he wiped the sweat off of his head with his forearm, careful of not spreading the wet paint from his hands.  
  
The final product was a kraang out of its robot suit with the words kraang in bold pink and teal colors in a rough but futuristic font. His brothers applauded at his work.  
  
”Nice work bro!” Raphael praised his little brother, who in turn appreciates the compliment.  
  
”Seems you got a little inspired lately by those thing.” Donnie exclaimed as he got up from the ac unit he was sitting on and walked over towards the wall to get a closer look to the still fresh paint.  
  
”The kraang might be bad guys but they are fun to draw.” Mikey admitted to his purple-clad brother. He lifted his hand petted Mikey’s head, Don’s way of showing affection. Both started packing the spray paints back into the black and orange backpack Mikey had come with. The two eldest brothers got up from the ac unit.  
  
“Let’s head home now. Looks like nothing’s happenin’ tonight.” Leo said as peered down onto the street, everything normal and quiet for once in their bustling and busy home.  
  
”Guess again, fearless.” Raphael said, gaining the attention of the other turtles. “Check this out.” The turtles peered over the edge of the roof and saw what Raphael had pointed at.  
  
”Purple Dragons.” Raphael stated.  
  
“What are they doing here?” Donnie pondered. They all stayed quiet, kneeling down near the edge of the roof, listening to the loud voice coming from the alleyway. They spotted the owner of the voice to be Hun.  
  
“Come dragons! We got a job to do and we can’t screw it up! Hurry into the trucks! We’re gonna miss the shipment!” Hun barked at his men as they did what they were told. One by one they enter into black armored trucks.  
  
“Shipment?” Leo mumbled, a bit confused at what they are planning.  
  
“Just think about the pay that the master is gonna give us! Now move!” Hun barked again, this time giving motivation to his men before climbing into one of the trucks and driving off to who knows where.  
  
“It looks like they’re working for someone,” Leo claimed as he got up from his knees.  
  
“Is that good or bad?” Mikey asked. “That depends on who they’re working for,” Leo answered.  
  
“Come on, let’s go after them and see what they’re up too,” Raphael said as he started to get filled with adrenaline on just the thought of smashing some no good scums to the ground.  
  
“Right, let’s move before we lose them,” Leo said before taking the lead and following the trucks. His brothers following close behind.  
  
The turtles chased after the dragons all the way to a warehouse near the docks on the Hudson River. They infiltrate the building through the open windows and listen closely from the support beams.  
  
“Everything is going smoothly master. The shipment is secure and is being loaded into the cars as per your orders sir.” Hun stated into the phone that he held up his ear.  
  
“Those mafia boys won’t even know what hit ‘em.” Hun boasted to the caller. “We’ll be out shortly.” Hun cut the call and put his phone back into his pocket, turning his attention back to his men.  
  
Leo signaled his brothers to drop down and stop the Dragons from escaping with the cargo. They sneak their way through the warehouse, taking out all the Dragons they ran into and hiding their unconscious beings away from plain sight.  
  
“Hurry it up!” Hun roared to his men as they began getting the last of the cargo into the trucks. Hun noticed that some of his men were missing and decided to investigate. He peered around the corner of a cargo crate and saw his men unconscious. He looked up to see the turtles sitting on top of the crate.  
  
Leonardo took the first move, jumping off the crate and kicked Hun in the face with his right foot. The other turtles soon followed by repeating Leo’s kicks, pushing Hun back to the center of the warehouse.  
  
Gaining his composure, he looked up and gave a sly smirk, “Look who it is. The turtles. Didn’t think you’d show up.”  
  
“We wouldn’t have if it were not for that loud ass voice you got.” Raphael teased.  
  
“Alright Hun, we can do this easy way or the hard way!” Mikey warned as he pointed his nunchucks at the bulking mass of muscle.  
  
”Alright then, turtles. Let’s do this the hard way. Foot! Attack!”  
  
Suddenly a hoard of ninjas came out of the shadows, surrounding the four turtles.  
  
“Ninjas?! Other than us?!” Donnie exclaimed as he and his brother back up against each other’s shells.  
  
“Come on, we can take them!” Leo said before lunging at the ninjas.  
  
One of them got ready to strike at Leonardo. He dodged the attack and kick the ninja down to the ground. Leo gazed at the ninja and looked at the clan symbol that had been painted onto the black cloth. The symbol of a red foot adorned the ninja.  
  
“A foot?” Leo pondered curiously. Something about that foot was familiar to Leonardo. An image popped its way to the front of Leo’s mind, an image of his mother painting a red foot onto a piece of paper with the words Ashi no Ichizuko on the side. He pondered the image until realization hit him.  
  
“The foot clan?!” He blurted out.  
  
Being distracted, the ninja got up and swung his leg under Leonardo. Gaining focus, Leo sprung up and defend himself against his opponent. He was too strong for Leonardo and managed to get Leo open and kicked him into a pile for crates where he joined his fallen brothers as they too were best by the ninjas.  
  
Hun stood and watched how the ninjas made handy work of the turtles. One of the dragons came up to him.  
  
“The cargo is secured.” He reported to Hun who smiled in delight. “Excellent. Let’s move out!” Hun ordered as he, the purple dragons and the foot vanished from the scene, leaving the bodies of the unconscious turtles in the pile of crates.  
  
Groaning filled the room as the turtles picked themselves up from the crates.  
  
“Everyone good?” Donnie asked, using his staff to stand up.  
  
“No... ow...” Raph groaned as he rubbed his lower back with his hand.  
  
“My head hurts…” Mikey mumbled as he was helped up by Donatello. “Man, those guys hit like trucks…” Raph said.  
  
Leo was distant from his brothers, he looked around the warehouse, his mind running towards the image of that foot.  
  
”The foot… it can’t be them… can it?” Leo said under his breath.  
  
“Can’t be what?” Raph asked him as he came to stand by him. Leo turned to face him. “Those guys… those ninjas, they wore the symbol of the foot. Hun even called them foot.” Leo explained.  
  
“Wait, you mean the foot clan? The one that mom told us about when we were kids?” Raphael questioned. “Yes! I saw the symbol on their clothes. It was the same one that mom showed us.” Leo confirmed.  
  
“But why would they be here in New York? Why would they team up with the dragons?” Mikey pondered.  
  
”I… don’t know actually…” Leo admitted.  
  
“If the Foot is here, things just got a whole lot worse…” Donnie said after analyzing their situation.  
  
Police sirens sounded from the outside of the warehouse, getting louder by every passing second. It was their cue to get out of there.  
  
“Let’s go. We’ll discuss this at home.” Leo said before he and his brothers retreated out of the building, just in time before the cops showed up.  
  
  
Hun awaited for the elevator to stop at his desired floor. The doors opened once they hit the top floor of the building, Hun exited and walked his way to the large doors at the end of the hall. He opened them slowly and entered the dark candlelit room. He walked over to the chair that was set at the opposite end of the room and kneeled before it.  
  
Oroku Saki leaned out to Hun, prepared to hear him.  
  
“Was your mission successful, Hun?” Saki questioned him.  
  
“Yes, master. Though, we did run into some... problems, the foot was able to take care of it.” Hun reported. Saki smiled in satisfaction, “Excellent. You may leave now.” Hun bowed before retreating from the room back into the hallway.  
  
Saki turns to face his daughter who was standing beside him.  
  
“How are things in Japan? How are my elites fairing there?” Saki asked her.  
  
“It seems everything is going well in Japan, father. No need to worry. Your elites have had no trouble maintaining order there.” Karai answered her father.  
  
“Good. Also, I need you to explore the city, see its inner workings and possible blind spots from the authorities.” Saki ordered her. “Yes, father.”  
  
He cups his daughter's face in his hand, “Take this as a bit of freedom from everything. Do what you wish in their city, but do not be seen.”  
  
Karai smiles at her father and leans her face in his hand. “Thank you, father.”  
  
  
The turtles soon arrived home all battered and beaten from their encounter with the foot. Their mother was on the couch watching her soap operas when she heard footsteps come from the entrance. She stood up and walked over to her sons.  
  
“You’re home.” She said as she checked her sons for injuries. “Purple dragons?”  
  
“Ugh… sorta.” Raphael said while making his way towards the couch. “What do you mean ‘sorta?’” Shen asked, confused about her sons choice of words. Leonardo came to her side and attempted to explain.  
  
“This might sound crazy but… we kinda fought… the foot.” Leo nervously explained.  
  
Shen was frozen on the spot, her mind drawing a blank at the words she just heard. She slowly processed the information before talking again.  
  
“W-What do you mean you fought the foot?” She questioned. This time, Donatello took over the explaining.  
  
“Okay, we were chasing after the purple dragons because they were gonna steal something. Don’t know what but that doesn’t matter. When we got there some ninjas came out of nowhere and attacked us. During the fight, we saw the symbol of a red foot on their clothes. The same one you showed us when we were kids.” He explained.  
  
“And are you sure about this?” Shen questioned him, not fully convinced. Leo put his hand on top of her shoulder, “Mom, we’re sure.” That seemed to persuade her.  
  
“But why would they be here in New York?” Shen wondered.  
  
“That’s what we wanted to ask you,” Leo admitted to her. “Well, I don’t really have an answer for you,” Shen said.  
  
“Well, that’s not helpful,” Raphael said out loud.  
  
“But if those ninjas you fought are actually the foot, I want you four to be careful. They may not seem like much but they are extremely dangerous, especially if…” Shen captioned them before giving a pause, sudden images in her head that halted her speech.  
  
“If what?” Mikey asked, wanting his mother to finish.  
  
Shen inhaled and exhaled a breath, her hands clenching her staff tighter.  
  
“I-If you encounter Oroku Saki.” She finished.  
  
“Your brother?” Mikey asked.  
  
”Yes.”  
  
“We can take him, can we?” Raphael said.  
  
“No!” She snapped at them. The turtles were taken back by her snap. It was rare for her to get so worked up at them, instilling fear into her sons whenever she did. Shen calmed herself down after her small explosion, breathing in slowly.  
  
“No... Saki is far more skilled than you four put together. He can kill all of you in a matter of seconds. He is extremely dangerous, avoid him if you somehow happen to find him or if he finds you.” Shen warned them, “Please...”  
  
The turtles agreed with her warning. Shen gripped her staff tightly around her hand and began walking to her room.  
  
“Get yourselves patched before you go to sleep. Goodnight my sons.” Shen bid them farewell for the night as she closed the door to her room, leaving her sons in the living room in silence.  
  
”That was weird.” Mikey broke the silence, ”She barely snaps at us.”  
  
”Is Oroku Saki really that dangerous?” Raphael pondered. “I mean... he can’t be that tough right?”  
  
”Mom never lies about anything, especially if it has something to do with her past life. We... have to take her word for it.” Leo argued.  
  
”Oroku Saki isn’t what matters right now. The foot is. We need to know why they’re working with the purple dragons and stop them if it turns out to be something bad which is most likely the case.” Donnie argued.  
  
“You think it’s gonna be that simple?” Leo questioned him.  
  
”Dude, we fought alien robots a couple of weeks ago. What’s some ninja’s gonna do to us?” Donnie countered him.  
  
”Whatever. Let’s go get some sleep, I’m tired.” Leo said defeated as he stood up from the couch and made his way to the stairs that led to the second story of their home that housed their rooms.  
  
Meanwhile, Shen searched through her drawer for something. She moved and shoved many things out of the way until she found what she was looking for. She grabbed it and took it out from the drawer. She sat her herself on the side of her bed and took a look at the item in her hand.  
  
It was a picture, an old, worn, and crumbled picture. In the picture housed three people, two men, and one woman. Both men were tall, broad-shouldered, and muscular with black sleek hair with chocolate eyes. The woman was fair skinned, with black sleek hair and chocolate eyes like the two men. They were in black clothing, ninja clothing with armor plates covering their arms and chests. Each sported a different colored bandana, the two men wore a dark red and a dark green bandana respectively. The woman sported a teal one.  
  
The ones in the photo were Tang Shen before she had become mutated, Hamato Yoshi, her late husband, and Oroku Saki, her adoptive brother. Oroku Saki... She had many fond memories of him but one dark stands out above the rest. Fire and blood fill her mind as she looks at his picture. She grips the photo tightly, creating more creases.  
  
 _”After so many years... why? Why do you have to come back?”_


	3. Oroku Karai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After encountering the Foot Clan, the turtles' rescue a mysterious kunoichi named Karai who raises some suspicion between them. Leonardo, however, trusts Karai and befriends her much to the dismay of his brothers who think she's keeping something secret. Karai, on the other hand, indeed does have something secret that could hurt Leo.

Karai had always wanted to go to New York City but had never had the chance until now. She was excited to see all of what New York had to offer, even if the city wasn’t as great as Japan.  
  
With the permission of her father, she was able to explore the city. She was near downtown so she wasn’t far from home. She decided to explore outside of time square. She walked through an empty street and when she heard something following her. She kept herself sharp. She turned around just to make sure but there was no one. Suddenly her mouth was covered and was being dragged by some shadowy figure.  
  
A few blocks away, the turtles were on patrol of the city tonight. There had been reported sightings of robots which sounded much like the kraang and the turtles decided to investigate. They perched themselves off the highest roof of the area and surveyed the streets.  
  
“Donnie, you see anything?” Leo asked. Donnie looked through his goggles that he had made from kraang tech.   
  
”Nothing. The streets are quiet.” Donnie answered disappointedly.  
  
”Damn.” Raph groaned behind them.  
  
”AAHHH!!”   
  
The turtles got to their feet.  
  
”You guys here that?” Mikey asked. ”Yeah.” They replied. They listened again and perched themselves off the edge to find a visual.  
  
”AAHH!”  
  
They heard it again alongside with some gunshots, all too similar to the Kraangs. To the right of the street, flashes of magenta light shined, signaling the presence of the Kraang.  
  
”There!” Mikey pointed.  
  
”Let’s go!” Leo said before hopping down the roof towards the action.  
  
Karai, with all her might, held back the strange figures that tried to hold her captive. She dodged and kicked the robots that came after her, but there were too many of them to fight. She was trapped.  
  
Suddenly help arrived in the shape of four mutant turtles. They all helped to take down the kraang one by one, breaking their robot suits to pieces.   
   
They took a moment to catch their breath.  
  
“Is that all of them?” Leo asked.   
  
Donatello looked down at his arm bracelet to see that more was coming their direction.  
  
”More are coming this way.” He said.  
  
“Let’s move!” He orders his team.  
  
He turns around to meet with Karai. He helps her up and leads her towards the emergency stairs in the alleyway, climbing up the stair to meet up with the rest.  
  
“Everyone okay?” Leonardo asked, making sure everyone was with him.  
  
“Yeah, we’re good,” Raph reassured him.  
  
Karai lets herself sit down at the edge of the roof, using her ninjata to lower herself onto the cold concentrate, then holding her arm in her hand. She had been shot by the kraang and was trying to stop the bleeding. Leo notices this and comes to help her.  
  
”Your arm.” He says, “It’s bleeding.”  
  
”It’s fine.” She winced.  
  
”It’s going to get infected.” Leo reasoned as he came to kneel in front of her, taking out a roll of bandages from his pocket for moments like these.  
  
Although a bit hesitant, Karai let her turtle savior heal her. Removing her hand and extending it forward, Leonardo began patching it.  
  
As the others took guard, making sure that the kraang were gone, Karai took the moment to look at her rescuers.  
  
They were turtles, mutant turtles. Like the ones that Hun had told about. Could they be the ones fighting off the purple dragons? They all matched the description she was given. Four turtles sporting a different color bandana and ninja weapons.  
  
But she didn’t dwell on them for long, images of those robots flooded her mind. Who were they? Why were they after her? What were they?  
  
Leonardo finished bandaging her arm, “That should hold.”  
  
Karai holds her arm close, making sure the bandage was right. She looked up to Leonardo, “Thank you.”  
  
“Coast is clear. We’re safe.” Donnie reported back, he and his brothers hustling back together. “Good,” Leo responds.  
  
Raphael takes a glimpse at the weapon the girl had with her. He immediately recognized as a ninjata, a straight blade Japanese sword, similar to a katana. He eyed his purple-clad brother who too had taken notice of the weapon, knowing full well what it could mean.  
  
“What... were those things?” Karai finally speaks. The others were hesitant to reveal much about the kraang but decided to give her an answer.  
  
“Those are called the Kraang, alien robots. They have been kidnapping people to experiment on them for a while.” Leo explained truthfully but leaving out the part of them being responsible for the M-Bomb.  
  
“Long story short, they’re incredibly dangerous and should be avoided at all times.” Raphael summarized.  
  
Karai arched her eyebrow up, “Aliens?! You have to be joking.”  
  
”Nope.” Mikey replied.  
  
Karai was skeptical at their words but didn’t want to dwell on it further. She was still on the idea of these turtles being the ones defeating the Dragons. She wanted to know more, perhaps get something out of them but she knew she couldn’t come off that obvious. She sighed in response to the turtle's explanation.  
  
“What are your names anyway?” She asked.  
  
“I’m Leonardo, he’s Raphael, that’s Donatello, and that’s Michelangelo,” Leonardo answered, pointing to each turtle with their respective names. Karai snickered, “You’re all Italian?”  
  
“Nope, our mom just likes art,” Mikey answered  
  
“So what’s your name?” Donnie asked this time. Karai took a moment to think about whether it was a good idea to reveal her name. She decided to go for it, seeing no immediate harm from it.  
  
“My name is Karai, I moved here from Japan with my father not too long ago.” She answered.  
  
“So you’re new here, huh? What’s up with the ninja moves, you in some kind of clan or something?” Raph questioned. Leonardo caught on to his words and turned to give him a disapproved frown.  
  
“My father was taught the ways of ninjutsu as a child and taught me as a young girl. So to answer your question, I am in no clan. Are  _you_  four in some sort of clan?” Karai repeated the question to them.  
  
Raphael was going to say something but Leonardo cut him off, “No, we’re not.”  
  
Karai noticed the tension between the blue and red turtle and decided that it was time for her to make her leave. She stood up from the concrete with the help of her ninjata before putting it back into its scabbard.  
  
“Hmph. I’d love to stay and chat a bit longer but I have somewhere to be and a wound to heal. Will I see you four again?”  
  
“Most likely,” Leo said with a smile. His brother caught on and eyed each other knowingly, smirking deviously.  
  
Karai returned the smile before turning towards the emergency stairs on the other side of the roof. She gave the turtles one last look.  
  
“Sayonara, kame.”  
  
With that, Karai was gone. Disappearing into the dead of night, leaving the turtles on the roof.  
  
Leonardo turned to Raphael and gave him a slap to the arm. “What was that?”  
  
“Ow! What was what?!” Raph yelped, his hand rubbing his arm.  
  
“Don’t play dumb, I know you were trying to see if she was in the Foot,” Leo argued to his slightly younger brother.  
  
“You don’t see any other ninja’s in New York running around unless they’re the Foot,” Raph argued back.  
  
“Gotta agree with Raph on this one. She had a ninjata as her weapon, doesn’t that scream ninja to you?” Donnie pointed out.  
  
“But you heard what she said, she’s not in a clan. We can take her word for it.” Leo tried convincing them.  
  
“And how do you know that?” Donnie countered. That seems to make Leo rethink his mind.  
  
“It’s... It’s just a feeling I have.” Leo said, averting his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
Everyone eyed each other and smiled knowingly, much to the annoyance of their oldest brother.  
  
“What?” Leo asked.  
  
“You like her!” Mikey blurted out. “W-What? N-No I don’t!” Leo said, waving his hands frantically.  
  
“Dude, it’s written all over your face,” Donnie stated as he leaned his body into his staff.  
  
“I mean, she is kinda hot…” Raph admitted.  
  
“Okay, Okay, I can’t lie on that but I can assure you guys that I don’t like her, at least like that,” Leo argued. “Yeah, keep talking Fearless.” Raph teased him.  
  
“Leo has a girlfriend!” Mikey chanted over and over again much Leo’s frustration. He sighed in defeat, “You guys aren’t gonna let me live it down.”  
  
“Nope!” Mikey said in between chants.  
  
“Come on, let’s head home,” Leo said before making his way down the emergency stairs to the manhole in the alleyway. The other quickly followed suit, whispering and teasing Leo behind his back.  
  
  
Karai was able to arrive home safe and sound. No alien robots following her. She walked into the dojo where her father was training. Saki had stopped when he heard the door open. He turned around to meet his daughter only for his eyes to gaze upon her wound.  
  
“What happened out there?” He asked worryingly.  
  
“There is more going on in this city that you realize father,” Karai says. “How so?” He questions.  
  
“As I walked through an empty street I was attacked by men who wanted to kidnap me. Someone came to help and destroyed those men who were… robots controlled by these small brain like creatures. They are called the kraang and from what I learned they kidnap people to experiment on them. To what they do I don’t know.” Karai explains.  
  
“Is that how you hurt your arm?” He guessed. “Yes.” She answers.  
  
“Who was it who helped you?” Saki asked, looking over her arm to see it to be properly patched.  
  
Karai became hesitant, who knew how her father would’ve reacted if he knew that those same turtles that had been causing him trouble were the same ones that saved her. But she couldn’t lie, especially with a wound such as the one she bears on her arm.  
  
“Mutants, who appear to have some quarrel with them.” She said vaguely. That seemed to satisfy her father’s curiosity.  
  
“Will these… Kraang be a problem for us?” He asked her.  
  
”I do not think so but-“  
  
“Then we have nothing to worry about. If they do not pose a threat to us then we should not dawdle on them.” Saki explains.  
  
Karai bows her head, “Yes, father.” Saki lifts up her chin.  
  
“Do not feel ashamed daughter. I am just glad they did not do anything worse to you.” He says, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Go and rest, you look rather pale.”  
  
“Yes, father.”  
  
  
Leonardo and Karai crossed paths with each other a couple of days later. Leonardo had gone out to do a solo run as he does whenever he gets bored at home. He mostly runs around the outer parts of the city but this time he decided to head within the heart of it. As Leonardo walked through the crowd of Times Square, he was able to spot a familiar face. Karai.  
  
He pushed his way through the crowd to reach her, yelling out her name to get her attention.  
  
”Karai!” He yelled, successfully getting the attention of the owner of that name.  
  
“Leonardo.” She said surprised. She hadn’t expected him to meet him again.  
  
“Coincidence to find you here. What’re you doing?” Leo asked her as he managed to catch his breath.  
  
“Exploring the city. A bit confusing to get around though.” Karai told him, pulling back a piece of her hair behind her ear.  
  
“I can show you around if you don’t mind.” He offered.  “You?”  
  
“Yeah! I know this town on the back of my hand. The streets, the subway, even the sewers.” Leo boasted to her, making her chuckle a bit. That seems to bring a smile to Leo’s face.  
  
“Gross. Well, lead the way, Leonardo.” Karai accepted his offer.  
  
Leonardo was filled with joy, his mouth extending into a giant grin as he leads Karai through the city. He showed her all the cool stores, landmarks, and food places that the city had to offer. It was a lot to take in but Leonardo was able to make sure Karai wasn’t overwhelmed. They had departed ways once Karai had to leave but she made sure she would see Leonardo again.  
  
For the next couple of weeks, Leonardo hanged out with Karai around the city. Having someone to relax with was nice. She gladly enjoyed Leo’s company and so did he. For Karai, it was a nice distraction from all the Foot and her father, for whom she didn’t disclose. Neither did Leo talk much about his mother.  
  
The rest of the turtles, though, still held doubts about Karai, especially Raphael. Though Karai seemed nice, there was still too much about her they really don’t know.  
  
In the dojo, Raphael and Leonardo were doing some extra training to sharpen their skills against the kraang and the Foot. They were alone, Raphael decided to use this time to talk to Leo in private.  
  
“So, how has it been with your girlfriend?” Raph teased as he blocked a punch.  
  
“She’s not my girlfriend, and you know this,” Leo said as he swung his leg. “I know, just giving you shit.” Raph chuckled as he ducked.  
  
“And to answer your question, it’s been fun. She’s cool.”  
  
“Oh really?”  
  
“And I haven’t seen any type of clue that she is in the foot clan if that’s what you’re wondering,” Leo said. “Hey, you never know.”  
  
Leo threw a punch which was caught by Raph. He twisted Leo’s arm and kicked the back of his knees and pinned him down to the ground.  
  
“I win.”  
  
He got up and helped Leo up from the ground.  
  
“I think that’s enough for today,” Leo said before making his way towards the door.  
  
“Be honest. You like her don’t you?”  
  
Leo stopped midway, “I mean, she’s pretty nice. Knows a lot about Japan and ninjutsu.” Leo tried to change the subject but knew that his brother wouldn’t let it go.  
  
“Come on… spit it out.” Raph insisted.

  
Leo sighed in defeat, “I... Yeah, I kinda like her, just a bit.”

“Woah! Our fearless leader likes someone. She must be something then.” Raph teased Leo playfully. “Yeah…”

“But something about her doesn’t sit right with me,” Raph said.

“Again with that?” Leo remarked.

“Hey, I’m telling you, she’s hiding something,” Raph argued. “Even Donnie finds her suspicious.”

“And how do you know?” Leo asked him.

“A gut feeling, and you know whenever I get a gut feeling it’s usually right. Look, I may be wrong but I’m just saying, you never know.”

Raph walked out of the dojo, leaving Leo with his thoughts. Leo had to admit, he does have some doubts. He goes and grabs his swords and jacket from the living room and heads out. He needs to clear his head.

As he moved through the city on the rooftops, he spotted Karai near an old warehouse. He decided to go after her.

“Karai!” He yelled out from a few rooftops. She turned around, surprised by his arrival. He jumped down from the next roof, “I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“It... It is good to see you again, Leonardo.” She says, her voice shaking at the beginning.

Leo took a glance at her outfit, all black with her chest, shoulders, forearms, thighs, and legs covered by shining metal armor. Her legs and arms wrapped in black bandages and her waist wrapped with red cloth. Her sword strapped to her waist as well. A full fledged ninja outfit, or in her case, kunoichi outfit. That started giving him red flags.

“What’re you doing here?” Leo asked curiously.

“Just out doing some work for my father. You?” Karai told him before returning the question.

“Just patrolling the city. As usual.” He responded. “Actually I wanted to find you, to ask you something.” He added.

“What is it?” She asked, diverting her gaze to the alleyway to see her foot soldiers doing an excellent job at handling the cargo she was meant to steal.

“You sure you’re not in some clan or something to the like?” He asked.

Karai froze in place, not sure of what to say.  _He knows._  She continued her gaze at her soldiers, trying hard to find words. She turns her head to face Leo who was waiting for an answer. The look of his face showed a hint of doubt but also trust.  _Perhaps he doesn’t know.  
_  
She gulped, “I have already given you my answer.”

“I-I know. My brothers, they’re... a bit suspicious about you. Being a kunoichi, perhaps they thought you were part of a clan.” Leo explained.

“And do you believe that?” She asked him.

“No, in fact, the opposite. I believe you, I just want to make sure you know.” Leo admitted to her. She sighed in relief, she was still safe.

“Why do you’re brothers believe I am in a clan? What clan are you against?” She questioned. She knew now was the appropriate time to ask him this question. For all the times she was with him, she has tried to get information out of him regarding the foot but had come up fruitless, until now.

“Cause… we’ve been fighting this ninja clan called the Foot for months now and thought that you were in it because you’re a kunoichi.” Leo explained.

Bingo.

“You are fighting the foot?”

“Yeah. You… know about them?” Leo confirmed before asking a question.

“They are… well known in Japan. One of the reasons my father and I moved out here.” She lied. “Why are you fighting them? What have they done to you?”

“We kinda fought them by accident. We mostly fight the gangs like the purple dragons and then they teamed up with the foot and we’ve been mixed up into this.” Leo admitted to her.

To say she was surprised was an understatement.

”No personal vendetta or anything?” She asked him.

“No... we fight to protect our home, this city.” He paused before sighing, “I guess you could say that we’ve been fighting for survival since the M-Bomb dropped.” He leaned against the edge of the roof, looking down at the street below. 

“Fighting is all I have ever known. I fight not because I want too. I fight because that is what I was born, raised, and modeled into. No matter if it is right or wrong.” She said unconsciously.

Suddenly she realized what she said. She started making her way down the roof.

“I-I have to go. My father is waiting for me.” She lies before heading down the emergency stairs, leaving Leo to ponder what she said.

 

“I will not stand for this type of failure! I have given you my army to use as you please to get the job done yet you somehow manage to fail me!” Saki roared in a fit of anger.

“I am deeply sorry Master Saki. The turtles-“ Hun tried to apologize but Saki was having none of his excuses.

“Those turtles are merely children and yet those children have been able to beat you every time you encounter them. I am starting to think that hiring you was a mistake.” Saki yelled again, crossing his arms on top of his chest.

“I swear Master, I will not fail you again. I swear it on my life.” Hun bowed his head in shame.

“I hope you are right on that. Leave me.”

Hun picks himself up from the floor and makes his way to the door. As the door shut, saki turned his attention to Karai who was standing beside him.

“Karai.” He said.

“Yes, father?” She responded.

“As you can see, Hun has failed me much too many times by those turtles he mentions. So I have a special mission for you.” He said. Karai gave him his full attention.

“I want you to find those turtles and destroy each and every one of them. I don’t want any more failures coming from Hun.” He ordered.

Karai tensed, muscles contracting. She had thought that the turtles would be nothing but a nuisance but it seems they are more than what they appear. She didn’t want to hurt them. She did not want to hurt Leonardo, especially the talk they had the other night. But she had no other choice.

She sighed, “Yes, father.”

 

It was the next night and Karai had been out searching for the turtles. Searching high and low the city to find them. She stopped on a roof and looked over the city view, the dark sky lit with a range of colored lights. It reminded her of her home back in Japan. 

She unsheathes her ninjata from its scabbard, her eyes fixed on the reflection of the smooth, hand made metal.

_I am tasked with eliminating the turtles. Though honor bound to the clan, my father… I cannot bring myself to kill innocent blood. I have seen too much blood be spilled by the clan and by myself._

_They are not enemies to the foot, they are innocent. Warriors wanting to just survive. Perhaps I can prevent more blood to be spilled._

Karai continues her search for the turtles, ultimately finding them near the outskirts of the city in the lower east side. She heads towards them and jumped onto their roof, alerting the turtles.

“Karai. What’re you doing here?” Leo asked surprised.

“Turtles, there is something important I have to tell you.” She said, keeping her distance from them.

Raphael eyes her closely, the kunoichi outfit drawing many red flags. He eyes his brother Donnie who seems to get the picture too. The air between them and Karai become tense.

“As some of you have suspected, I am part of the Foot Clan, the same one you four have fought alongside the purple dragons. The leader of the Foot and my father sent me to kill you all.” Karai confessed, lowering her head and averting her gaze.

“I knew it! I knew you were hiding something!” Raph blurted out as he got ready to charge her. Leo and Don were quick to hold him back.

“Raph don’t!” Leo told him, wrapping his arms around his arm.

Raph was able to break free from their hold and charged at Karai, taking his sais out and striking at her. Being quick herself, she was able to block the sais with her ninjata.

“Please! I do not want to fight you!” Karai shouts to him, stilling holding him back.

“Tough luck! You should’ve thought about that before coming over here.” Raph said back.

Karai manages to get Raphael off of her, sending him back a couple of feet. Raph rams in for another shot but Leo comes in between them and stops him, much to the turtle's confusion.

“Stop! I won’t let you hurt her!” Leo shouts, his arms extending outward to protect Karai.

“Dude! What side are you on?! You’re protecting the enemy!” Raph shouted.

“Stop! Please!” Karai pleaded.

The turtles stayed quiet and gave her their attention.

“I do not want to fight. I have already spilled too much blood just for the sake of my clan. I do not want more to be spilled. My father sees you as a threat to the clan and wants you four dead.” She starts explaining. The others began to relax.

She continues, “I do not want to do this, you four have nothing against us. You have just been mixed up in something that you do not belong in. Please, to save more blood from being spilled, stop fighting us. Please, stop the fighting.” She pleads.

“We can’t do that. This is our city, our home. We come up here every night to protect it.” Leo tried to reason but it was futile.

“Leonardo, you have to listen to me. The Foot clan is more powerful than you think. None of you stand a chance against us.” Karai reasoned.

“Karai…” He comes close to her, his hands reaching for her.

“I’m trying to save your lives... just like you saved mine.”

Karai steps back, her hand reaching behind her back.

“Do not find me anymore. I… I’m sorry.” She says before throwing a smoke bomb, concealing her escape, preventing the turtles from following her.

“You were right... I should’ve listened to you guys. I’m sorry.” Leo apologized.

Donatello was the first to comfort him, coming next to him and rest his hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t be. Even though Raph and I were right from the start, you had good intentions.” Donnie said.

“I know she’s good.”

“The things she’s gone through, I don’t know much about but... I can tell she’s telling the truth.”

Leo bows his head, his eyes gazing to the concrete floor. Mikey comes and gives his brother a hug, an act that he does often to cheer him up.

“C’mon, let’s go home,” Raph said before making his way off the roof with the others following behind.

Leo looked back at the spot where Karai disappeared before continuing on with his brothers.

 

Karai arrives back to her father, kneeling on one knee and bowing her head down in an act of shame.

“Was your mission successful?” Saki questioned his daughter.

“No father, the turtles were too powerful for me to handle on my own. They were able to get away. I am sorry.” She lied.

Saki somehow bought it.

“I see. They are more powerful than I thought. It seems I will have to bring my elites to New York if I want to get rid of them. Go and rest Karai.” He says, sending her off.

“Yes, father.” She says before leaving the room to her own living quarters.

She stands beside the large windows in her room, looking down at the view of the city.

_Please, no more blood._


	4. Mr. Jones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shying away from the turtles, we focus on Casey Jones, hotheaded vigilante and best friend to Raphael. During his fight with the purple dragon leader, Hun, he discovers something that changes his life. But what is it?

It was an awfully chilly night for early September. Summer has been coming to a close and fall was just around the corner. The streets were more empty than usual, summer break had ended and everyone is back to their mundane routines of life.  
  
Casey and Raphael were on the rooftops messing around with golf balls, shooting them at different objects around them. They had also been accompanied by Angel, a childhood friend of Casey Jones who he had saved from joining the dragons a few years back.  
  
Casey gripped the club tightly and swung, the ball hitting the already busted satellite dish from a roof over.  
  
“Another ten points!” He boasted.  
  
“You almost hit that window.” Raphael teased.  
  
“Almost.” Casey scoffed, “Let’s see if you can hit that satellite dish.”  
  
“Pfft. Easy!” Raphael got another golfball out and practiced his shot. He swung his club and the ball hit the dish like he said it would. He turned his head back to face Casey, a smug grin clear on his face.  
  
“How was that?” He asked, getting close to his Casey’s face.  
   
“I have to admit, it was impressive,” Casey responded smugly.  
  
Casey towered over Raphael who was still pretty short against him even while on his tippy-toes. Their little scene made Angel laugh.  
  
“Hanging out with you guys never gets old.” She says before jumping off the air conditioner she was sitting on. “You guys getting hungry? I’m starving.”  
  
“Yeah. How about some pizza?” Raph suggested as he handed Casey the golf club to put in his already full duffle bag.  
  
“Sure. The last one to the pizza shop gets to pay!”  
  
Angel began sprinting off to the pizza shop, leaving the two behind in the dust. Both hotheads followed quickly behind her.  
  
  
“I always pay for the pizza,” Casey complained as he took a bite of his supreme pizza.  
  
He was sitting alone on one side of the table next to the window with his duffle bag in the other chair. Raph and Angel sat on the opposite side with Raph sitting next to the window.  
  
“Not our fault you can’t run fast,” Raph said.  
  
“You’re a turtle! You should not be that fast. There has to be a secret to that.” Casey pointed out to the mutant turtle.  
  
“The secret is… mmh… being mutant.” Raph answered while taking a bite out of his pizza, the cheese stretching and drooping from his mouth.  
  
“Well, that’s not helpful.” Casey frowned, taking another bite from his pizza as he lays his head against his hand.  
  
He looks out the window and sees a robbery across the street at a jewelry store. He sees some men with purple tattoos on their arms. The purple dragons.  
  
“Those purple dragon scums!” He said before chowing down his pizza. Getting up from his seat, he grabs his duffle bag and heads out the shop.  
  
“Wait! Casey wait!” Raph called out to him.  
  
Angel got up from her chair and went after him, leaving behind Raphael who grabbed the last slices of pizza and shoving them into his mouth before following his friends.  
  
“Hey!” Casey called out, startling the thieves. The start hurrying away from the streets, with Casey following close behind.  
  
“Get back here!” Casey shouted as he turned the corner of the street. Raphael and Angel soon were able to catch up to him, running shortly behind him. They tracked down the escapees down to an old run down warehouse. They entered inside to find a large number of purple dragons inside. Hun, the leader of the dragons, standing in the middle of them.  
  
"Shit." Raph cursed.  
  
"Oh ho! Look who came to the party!" Hun announced to his followers.  
  
"Hun!" Casey shouted, grabbing a hockey stick from his bag. Angel grabbed a bat from his bag while Raph got out his sais.  
  
"Dragons, you know what to do," Hun said.  
  
The dragons started fighting against them, using any weapon they could find. One ran towards Casey and swung a crowbar near his head. Casey dodged it and swung his hockey stick in retaliation.  
  
The fight went on for a while, the dragons not letting up one bit. Casey managed to get some off his back, he turned to face Hun who was sitting idly by, away from the fight. He points his stick at him.  
  
“Why don’t you come and face me, Hun?! What?! Too scared to fight me?!” Casey threaten.  
  
“Scared?! Ha! In your dreams kid!” Hun laughed.  
  
Hun and Casey started fighting each other. Casey used every single weapon he had in his bag as Hun broke each and every one. Casey got good hits on Hun and did some damage but Hun wasn’t having it. Hun gave Casey equally as hard punches.  
  
“Stupid kid! Don’t you realize that you can’t beat Hun, the Purple Dragon!” Hun exclaimed as he punches Casey’s stomach, sending him back a couple of feet.  
  
“Heh… I’ve beaten guys tougher than you.” Casey said as he wiped the blood running from his mouth.  
  
“What do you think of this?!” Hun questioned him.  
  
Hun charged and punched Casey square in the face, knocking off his mask and knocking Casey to the ground.  
  
Hun stood over him, “Is that tough for ya?”  
  
Casey lifted himself up from the floor, fists up in the air, still ready to fight.  
  
“Not even close.” He said.  
  
Hun stared blankly at his face, something in his mind began remembering something. Someone. His son. The son he had left behind. The kid in front of him looked exactly like his kid. Could it be him? He didn’t know. He continued to stare blankly at him, going a few steps back.  
  
“S-Son?” Hun questioned.  
  
“Son?” Casey repeated confused at the sudden word.  
  
Something too in Casey’s mind started remembering something but was cut off by Raphael running after him.  
  
“Casey!” He cried as he sucker punched Hun who’s knocked into the ground. He goes and picks up Casey from the floor.  
  
“What’re you doing?! Let’s go!” Raph told him.  
  
Casey looked around to find most of the dragons defeated. The others did good handy work on them.  
  
”You gonna stand there all night?” Raph broke Casey out his daze. Shaking head, he mumbled an apology before both made their way out the warehouse.  
  
They met up with Angel who was already outside waiting for them.  
  
“Took you two long enough.” She said as she handed back her bat to Casey who put it back in his duffle bag.  
  
“Fun night I must say. You guys know how to make a girl have a good time.” Angel said, stretching her arms.  
  
“We always have a good time.” Raph responded before turning his gaze to Casey, “Right Casey?”  
  
Casey was blanked out, his gaze on the entrance of the warehouse. Raph looked back at Angel who got worried.  
  
“Bro, you okay?” Raph asked as he planted his hand on his shoulder, shaking him to break his trance. Casey jerked from the shake, turning his gaze to the green mutant.  
  
“S-Sorry.” He mumbled.  
  
”Did something happen?” Angel asked him.  
  
”When I was fighting Hun, he... he said something weird to me.” Casey told her.  
  
”How weird?” Raph asked him.  
  
”He... He said... son. Like kid son... to me.” Casey explained.  
  
”But why would he say that?” Angel pondered.  
  
”I don’t know but when he said it... something in my mind kinda... I don’t know how to say it but...” Casey explains further.  
  
”Something got triggered?” Raph suggested.  
  
”Yeah! I don’t know what though.” Casey admits.  
  
They all stayed silent, the sounds of cars and the wind broke the silence.  
  
”I... we should go...” Casey said before started making his way back to his home, leaving Raphael and Angel behind. They decided not to follow, knowing full well Casey needed to sort this out on his own. They departed not long after.  
  
  
It was already 3 am and Casey still hadn’t fallen asleep. Something wouldn’t let him sleep. He tossed and turned in his bed, the sheets and blankets ruffling up. He rubbed his face in an attempt to clear his head.  
  
The word ‘son’ continued to play in his head like a broken record. He couldn’t take it anymore.  
  
He lifts up his blanket and throws it to the side of his bed. He gets off the bed and walks out his room to the direction of his basement. He switches the light on and makes his way to the storage shelf. He grabs a couple of boxes that he thought contained was photographs. Opening the lid, he began scavenging through the small piled of photos of his childhood.  
  
He opened another box, only one photo album was inside. He picked it up and skimmed through it. Most of the photos were of him when he was a kid. Nothing came up. He looked defeated and let the album hang from his hand. An envelope suddenly fell out of it.  
  
He took it and opened it. It was more photographs but they were different. He flipped through them and stopped at a specific one. It was one of him, his mother, and… his father. Hun.  
  
He couldn’t believe it. He was drawing blanks. Just… how could he be his father? How did he not even realize it?  
  
He put the photo in his pocket and put everything back. He had to get some real answers. He walked back upstairs and waited in the living room, his mother was his last chance for answers.  
  
Hours pass by and Casey managed to get stay awake. His mother came out of her room and was surprised to find her son already awake.  
  
”Y tu que handas despierto (What are you doing up so early)?” She says to her son as she makes her way to the kitchen. Casey, half asleep, jolts up from the couch and goes after her.  
  
“Ma, can I talk to you?” He asked.  
  
“Si mi hijo. What is it?” She said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She gestured him to the table to sit which he did.  
  
“What do you want to talk about?” She asked him, taking a sip from her mug.  
   
“It’s about... dad.” He says hesitantly.  
  
Her eyes widened at the response, she sets her mug carefully on the table.  
  
“What… about him?” She asks him.  
  
Casey looked her dead in the eyes, the back of his throat swelling up and forming a knot.  
  
“Is Hun… my father?” He asked.  
  
She stared blankly at her coffee, not sure what to say.  
  
“Ma… is he my dad?” He asked again, this time taking out the photo he had found. “The leader of the purple dragons, is... is he my dad?”  
  
“Si...” She answered.  
  
To say he was shocked was an understatement. Hun, the leader of the purple dragons, one of the most wanted in the city, the guy that he had been fighting against for years now was indeed his father.  
  
He took a deep breath to calm himself. He grabbed his mother’s hands in his.  
  
“What happened?”  
  
She took a deep breath.  
  
“I met your father when I was working in the old bar back when I had finished school. He was a gentleman to me, bringing me flowers every time he came. Soon he had won my heart and I went to live with him. He and I ran the purple dragons together. It was a good life... then we found out I was pregnant. We ended up decided to settle down. I had left the life of the dragon behind to raise you. Your father, however, wanted to continue that life. Though I tried to convince him to stop, he wouldn’t listen. We argued nearly every day, frightening you awake at night. That’s when he had enough. He packed his things and left. I was furious with him and I knew I didn’t want you following in his footsteps so I lied about him in hopes of keeping you safe.”  
  
“And I didn’t,” Casey says. She nods. Casey gets up from his seat to give his mother a hug.  
  
  
Bottles of liquor and buds of cigars littered the floor. Tapping was the only sound in the room. Hun had been up all night since his fight with Casey Jones. He could still remember the kids face, it reminded him too much of someone else.  
  
”It... It can’t be him...” He mumbled to himself as he took another sip of his whiskey.  
  
”It can’t be... my son.” He said as he continued to ponder. But something in his gut told him that it was. That kid was his son. But would he think of his old man being the leader of the dragons? He wouldn’t like that. Unless he could convince him to join the dragons, he could get some pressure off his back. It was worth a shot.  
  
He stood up and finished chugging the last of the whiskey and dropped it to the floor, the glass shattering on impact.  
  
  
It was cold, the night blew harder than previous nights. It had been a couple of days after Casey’s sudden realization, he had decided a walk would help him clear his mind. He turned the corner and stopped when he rounded it.  
  
Hun was there.  
  
”Kid-“ He called out but Casey cut him off. He took out his hockey stick and pointed it at him, ready to fight.  
  
He brought his hands up in the air, “I’m not here to fight you.”  
  
”You’re not?” Casey said, lowering his stick, his stance relaxing. “What are you here for?”  
  
”It’s.. about our last fight. Look... what I said...” Hun started.  
  
Casey knew where this was going. He took a deep breath before speaking.  
  
“I know... I know. You’re... my dad.” Casey said to him.  
  
“Oh, so you know.”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
They stayed silent, letting the fall breeze wash over them. Everything was tense.  
  
”Listen, kid. I... I’m sorry for not being there for you... for your ma...” Hun admitted though Casey knew it wasn’t genuine.  
  
”It doesn’t matter.” Casey told him, knowing where his words led.  
  
”Look, we could catch up. I can be the dad you needed.” Hun told him. “We can be a family but only if you decide to join the purple dragons.”  
  
There it was. The catch. Casey shook his head in disappointment.  
  
”Yeah, no. Sorry ‘pops’ but I’m not joining you dragon scum.” He said.  
  
”Think about it. We can be a family! I can finally be a father to you!” Hun insisted.  
  
”Don’t pull that dad crap on me! Just because you’re my dad doesn’t mean that I’m just gonna join your side. Besides, I’ve been fine without a dad! In fact, I think I’m better off without a dad.” Casey shouted back. “I know what the good and bad looks like and you’re clearly bad. I’ve been fighting you for the last two years and I’m not thinking of stopping. So why don’t you get lost, ‘pops’.”  
  
Casey turns around and walks away, leaving Hun alone.  
  
”That’s how it’s gonna be, huh? Fine, have it your way. But be warned, Casey, I will not stop.”  
  
  
Casey sat on the edge of a rooftop that was facing Central Park. He held the photo of him and hun in his hand.  
  
“Hey…” Someone called out. Casey turned around and it was Raphael.  
  
“Hey…” He replied before turning back around, his arms wrapped around his leg, laying his head on his knee. Raphael came next to him and took a seat beside him.  
  
“You’ve been quiet lately. Something wrong?”  
  
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Casey mumbled as he adjusted his position, bringing his leg closer to his chest.  
  
“Try me,” Raph said.  
  
“So I found out that um… Hun… he’s my dad.” Casey told him.  
  
Raph stared blankly at Casey with wide eyes. His brow curved, “You’re kidding right?”  
  
“Nope. I got proof.” Casey said before handing him the photo he held in his hand. Raph observed the photo and as quickly as glanced at it the quick his jaw dropped. He moved his gaze back and forth from his best friend to the photo.  
  
“No way!” Raph couldn’t believe it.  
  
“Kinda shocked too but it’s true. My ma’ even told me it’s true.” Casey confirmed.  
  
“But how did you find out about it?” Raph asked him.  
  
“Remember when I told you what Hun said to me? Well, I dug out the old photo albums from my basement and found the picture.” Casey explained.  
  
“Why didn’t you know about him being your dad?” Raph asked.  
  
“He left my mom to be with the dragons when I was pretty young. My mom didn’t want anything to do with him and so she never told me anything about him. She only said that he was dead to the family.” Casey explained further.  
  
Raph pulled the picture up to Casey’s face and compared him to Hun. He sneered, “You look nothing like him.”  
  
“Of course not! Why would I want to have his ugly mug!” He joked, letting out a much-needed laugh. He sighed and got up from his spot. He adjusted his duffle bag and grabbed his hockey stick. “You up for some old school beaten’?” He asked his mutant friend.  
  
“You know it.”  
  
He helped him up from the floor and both headed wherever trouble was lurking.


End file.
